


Back to the Light

by Lachises



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Absent parents in many forms, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Anti-Hero, Coming of Age, Forgiveness is even longer, Gabriel Agreste having been hawk moth is common knowledge at this point, Identity Reveal (eventually), Learning how to be a hero is tough, Love triangle (eventually), POV Multiple, Redemption is a long road, Slice of Life, Superhero antics, Takes place about 20 years after the show, but just a little bit, legacy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-08-20 09:36:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20225701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lachises/pseuds/Lachises
Summary: Ladybug and Chat Noir, along with their team of superheroes, went inactive twelve years ago, leaving a peaceful Paris in their wake. Evelyn Rosier is sixteen and has thus far enjoyed a rather calm life. Her life, however, suddenly takes a turn when a miraculous falls into her own hands to match a new threat; The reappearance of Chat Noir, whose new wielder seems to have nothing but malicious intent. Faced with balancing life as a superhero tasked with recovering the two most powerful miraculouses and living day-to-day as a normal teenager who has taken the world onto her shoulders, she has to figure out how to rise to the task and not crash and burn in the process. But she's not completely alone; With her best friend by her side in the daylight and her miraculous partner by her side in the night, things could be worse. After all, how hard could this superhero thing be?





	1. Seven Years Bad Luck

Diligently, a nightguard patrolled the hallway outside the vault. Nothing outside distinguished the vault from any other within the bank's depths, but only those in the know were aware of the vast riches held behind the hefty cast-iron doors by the elite of Paris. It was an older vault, made of tougher stuff than its newer counterparts, made to withstand any petty burglar.

  
Well, almost any.

The night guard passed by the vault door once more. True, his attention often slipped. The vault door was impenetrable, equipped with so many anti-theft devices that it was mind-boggling. This was a vault that was given only the best security, which he supposed included him, but more likely he was there for cosmetic purposes only.

  
He passed the door again. Somewhere on the roof, a pair of gloved hands opened the grate of the vents, sliding an agile body clad in black leather inside. The night guard's thoughts were preoccupied with what he'd do when he got home. His shift had made him miss his favorite TV show, but luckily he had set it to record, so he could watch that.

  
He passed the door again. The body shimmied through the vents, movements so silent one would swear he wasn't real.

  
The night guard turned to make his last rotation for the night, though he didn't know that. At the opposite end of the hallway, a grate leading to a ventilation shaft normally blew in cold air. Tonight it blew in disaster for the guard. Head down as he approached it, it was no wonder he didn't see the silver pole as it shot out of the vent and slammed into his head.

  
He crumpled instantly, falling to the floor unconscious. The force of the pole had left a clean, crescent-shaped cut on his forehead that in the morning would be accompanied by a rather stupendously sized purple welt.  
Chat Noir slipped out of the vent without so much as a noise. His feet met the marble floor as if it was a good friend, the protest of a thud unheard. His bright blue eyes scanned the hallway expectantly yet there was not a person bar the snoring night guard on the floor.

  
Chat swept down and retrieved his baton, securing it once more to his belt. He rolled his shoulders, itching to get rid of the cramping from squeezing himself through the air vents and then stepped over the guard.  
There was no ceremony, no reverence as he approached the vault door. He approached it with a bordering-on-bored swagger, stopping at its middle and eyeing it up and down, clearly unimpressed.

  
"Cataclysm." He hummed. A ball of dark energy burst into his right hand instantaneously which he then injected into the vault door. And just like that, all the security measure and all the money poured into the door failed. It crumbled into nothing, its final resting place a pile of dirty brown ash at Chat Noir's feet.

  
He entered.

  
When his replacement awoke the night guard the next morning, he couldn't recall a thing except for a flash of silver. Nearby cameras on the buildings outside caught footage of a person remarkably resembling the long inactive Chat Noir slipping inside the bank at three A.M that morning, though the theft wasn't to be discovered until four hours later when the guard's replacement came at last.

  
With nothing else to call him, come morning news stations all over Paris bemoaned a Chat Noir reappearing who only seemed to want to hurt Paris.


	2. With Great Power

In the verdant backroom of a small florist in Paris, the patter of water dripping from hanging plants mingled with the subdued mumble of a news reporter on the radio. A small box propped open the back door, letting in a much-needed gale of chilled November air to the humid room.

A young woman, dark brunette hair piled atop her head in a creation vaguely resembling a bun, backed into the room cautiously through the ajar door. In her arms, she hefted a large styrofoam box, beading with water that made it slippery to hold. The box was just another one of several she had brought in within the last hour.

She turned heel and hauled the box to the freezer room. Her hand felt blindly for the handle for a moment then, finally locating it, pulled the door open. A swell of icy cold air washed over her as she wandered inside. The box was dropped unceremoniously among its kin as she dragged her hand over her forehead, wiping off sweat and hair that had stuck to it.

A bell chimed distantly in the front room, indicating someone's entrance into the store. She slid her phone out of her pocket and the checked the time; 8:03 A.M.

"Oh, damn it!" She whispered, pushing her phone back into her pocket. "I should have stopped earlier." She sighed, exiting the freezer.

The hefty steel door was shut with a strained groan; She had never quite been strong enough to do it with ease. She crossed the room to the workbench adjacent the back door. The connecting door between the back room and the shop opened.

"Eve, Fletcher is here." Her mother, Serena, prompted softly, opening the door just enough to poke her head through.

"I know, mama." She flicked off the radio, interrupting the perky reporter saying something about a robbery mid-sentence. "I lost track of time, tell him to give me a minute."

Serena nodded and disappeared back through the door. The mumble of conversation reached her ears through the wall.

  
Eve set upon the task of pulling the box back into the storage and locking the back door. She dropped the keys into a small dish on the workbench and hurried towards the connecting door. As she went, she pulled her hair down and slid the hair tie around her wrist.

"Shipment is nearly done, mama." She said as she pushed the door open and entered the shop.

  
"Always appreciated, dear," Serena replied distractedly. Her focus was centered on sweeping up the leaves that had fallen off the various flowers and plants overflowing in every corner of the room. Right now, she was sweeping near a particularly lovely spray of tulips.

  
Idling near a cart of succulents was Eve's best friend, his pale fingers trailing over the hardy little plants. His shaggy blonde hair was obscured partly by a grey beanie matching the grey scarf around his neck.

  
"Hey, Fletch!" Eve called, ducking behind the counter to pull out her bag and coat, which she luckily had the foresight to pack in advance.

  
"Good morning Eve." He replied raising a bright blue gaze to watch the top of Eve's head bob behind the counter.

  
"Kind of!" She shot up from behind the counter like a bolt, dropping her bag on the counter. "I kind of - " She struggled to find the armhole in her jacket for a moment, face flushing.

  
"I lost track of time." She laughed, buttoning up her coat.

  
"Don't you always?" He replied, biting his lip to force down his smile as he watched her swing her bag on to her shoulders with an unnecessary flourish. They had walked to school together for years and he couldn't recall a single time Eve had been on schedule.

  
"Watch it, Agreste." Eve winked, amber eyes glittering, coiling her scarf around her neck. She emerged from behind the counter and bypassed the awaiting Fletcher at the door to go to Serena.

  
"Tell me I'm wrong." Fletcher challenged, shifting the strap of his bag up his chest by a few centimeters. He couldn't help it; A grin broke through onto his lips.

  
"I'm not going to say you're wrong." Eve shot back, sticking her tongue out at him. "I'm just gonna be disgruntled that you're right." She spun around to face Serena.

  
"I'll finish shipment at lunch," She promised, pecking Serena on the cheek, "Love you."

  
"Have a good day, Eve. And you - you say hi to Sabine and Tom for me, Fletcher." Serena called as Eve walked away from her, leaning her weight on her broom.

  
"Of course, Ms. Rosier." Fletcher dipped his head politely. Eve stopped short as he pushed open the door for her to shake her head bemusedly and glide past him. He laughed and followed her out, the pair ducking into the hazy morning.

"Hey," Fletcher reached forward and touched Eve's shoulder. "Why did you call me last night?"

  
"Oh!" Eve's expression read with utmost clarity that she had even forgotten she did that. "I - " She stopped walking and began digging through her bag. "Did you finish statistics? I couldn't figure it out." She confessed, eyes flickering up shyly.

  
"Yeah, I'll show you at school. Don't worry right now." He reassured her. Eve's smile was small and grateful.

  
"I'm glad you didn't pick up, anyway. You look beat." She added, beginning to walk again. "What were you doing last night to cause bags that deep under your eyes?"

  
"Studying." He replied noncommittally. Eve hummed in reply, head still down as she closed up her bag. She made it only a couple steps further before colliding with someone as oblivious as her.

  
Fletcher jerked forward to catch her but was a moment too late. He could only watch as she stumbled backward and promptly fell flat on her butt, her hands scraping against the sidewalk as she caught herself.

  
The man she ran into fared far worse. His phone jumped out of his hands and seemingly developed wings before hitting the ground a couple of feet away. His glasses clattered to the ground at Eve's feet.

  
"I am so so sorry!" She squeaked, already on the move to rescue his glasses from the relentless march of pedestrians before looking up at him.

  
"Here, sir." She offered him the pair back, which he gratefully took, one hand gripping his chest where Evelyn's head had slammed into it. Fletcher held out his hand to Eve, who took it and hoisted herself up.

  
"It's - It's really quite alright." He insisted, pushing his glasses back up. Eve shook her head, still mortified, and grabbed his wrists, helping him to his feet. Her hand brushed up against a bracelet, which upon further inspection was made of twine, with a carved shell in the middle. She stalled, distracted by the unusual thing.

  
"I was just heading to that florist up the street." He explained, offering a reassuring head dip to Fletcher's sheepish smile as he handed back the man's now cracked phone.

Eve released his wrists, her head tilting in surprise. "The florist? I'm her daughter. What do you need?"

  
"Really?" The man laughed, somehow in a good mood despite his unfortunate luck. "Do you have any bouquets for a wedding anniversary? It's my wife and I's today and I'm afraid it slipped my mind." He inquired hopefully, raising his brown eyes from his phone. His thumb brushed gingerly over the fractures.

  
"Those normally have to be ordered well in advance." She answered automatically before she realized she was speaking. Eve flushed, tangling her fingers in her hair.

  
"I see." His face went crestfallen. "Well, thank you for-"

  
"But," Eve cut him off rapidly, cheeks becoming hot, "Since I, uhm, broke your phone, I'll go make you one. Right now."

  
"Eve, what? We'll be late-" Fletcher began. Eve silenced him with a scorching glare. Fletcher's jaw set, but he stopped speaking.

  
"Won't take me more than a few minutes. We've flowers from canceled orders, I'll use those, they'd wither otherwise." She shrugged her bag off and pressed it into Fletcher's hands, who looked exasperated but not irritated.  
The man hardly got a chance to speak before she bolted back into the shop. He carefully put his phone into his pocket and risked a glance at Fletcher.

  
"I'm sorry." He wrung his hands together uncomfortably. "Is she always like this?"

  
"Yep." Fletcher smiled despite himself. "Can't ignore a person in distress." Blue eyes shining with warmth, he turned her bag over in his hands.

  
Several minutes and a ribbon or two later, Eve emerged holding a bundle.

  
"We always have roses," She explained, passing it into the man's waiting hands, "So I used quite a bit of those, along with some other flowers sprinkled in. I hope your wife likes it."

  
"What do I owe you?" The man asked, eyes wide in awe, beginning to fish around his pockets for his wallet.  
"Nothing!" Eve hummed, retrieving her bag from Fletcher and pulling it back on. "Just...have a good anniversary." She smiled and grabbed Fletcher's wrist. "C'mon, Fletch."

  
The pair took off down the street once more, pace for pace with each other. Eve fished her statistics paper out of her bag and was currently waving it in Fletcher's general direction, procuring all the explanations she could drain from him in the walk to school. He, on the other hand, gladly explained - but not without relentlessly teasing her all the while.

  
The man's hand landed on the small box in his back pocket, staring after the girl thoughtfully.

* * *

The two managed to arrive at school in record time, mostly due to Fletcher's insistence that they borderline run the distance. With five minutes until first bell and Eve readily equipped with a newfound competence at statistics, they ducked into the classroom to hopefully pull off finishing the page.

  
"Hey Fletcher, hey Eve!" A chipper voice greeted them near instantaneously. Eve sparingly glanced up from the paper to see the bright-eyed, red-haired Leah Leavitt, verifiable sunshine incarnate and probably her closest friend aside from Fletcher.

  
"Morning, Lee. You're excited." Eve observed idly, sliding into her seat a level below her. Fletcher, naturally, sat next to her. The room was mostly full; Eve and Fletcher, ever true to character, were among the last to arrive.

  
Leah careened forward, nearly toppling out of her seat, hands gripping the ledge of her desk. "How are you not? Chat Noir reappears, and he's a villain?!" She clapped her hands together, falling back in her seat with a dramatic sigh. "Ah, to live in interesting times!"

  
"What?" Eve twisted in her seat, pen stalling on her page. "_Chat Noir_? Lee, he went inactive when we were four."

  
Fletcher jabbed his finger into her shoulder. "Ignore her. Carry that." He tapped on the page. Eve obliged him, but did so begrudgingly, turning back to the page reluctantly.

  
"I'm not saying its the Chat Noir our parents grew up with. It's just, he looks just like him and besides, he was robbing a bank. It's not like he stopped to introduce himself to Paris." Leah rambled on, oblivious to Fletcher's scathing gaze.

  
Eve's pen trailed to a halt and her eyes turned to Fletcher, eyebrows knitting in confusion.

  
"Re-read this sentence." He encouraged, running his finger along the words. "You'll get it."

  
Eve returned her attention to the paragraph, but it soon wandered away once more, though she would argue by no fault of her own.

  
"When did you start wearing that?" She seized Fletcher's right hand, depositing her pen to rest between her teeth. The silver ring on Fletcher's middle finger was most certainly new, she decided.

  
Fletcher smiled weakly. "Sabine gave it to me a few days ago. It was my dad's."

  
"Ah." She released his hand and plucked her pen from her mouth.

  
"Your interest isn't even a little piqued, Eve?" Leah prodded again, leaning forward. She tapped Eve's head.

  
"It's not important." Fletcher swatted vaguely at Leah, compelling her, at last, to recline fully in her seat. "What is important is that she gets this done."

  
"Not surprised she didn't." A fourth voice snorted. His words were clearly intended to sting, laced with an indifferent venom. "You've never been good at math."

  
"Here he is, the biggest douche in the universe." Eve's eyes didn't stray from her paper. "And I thought you weren't here today. I was so looking forward to having a good day." She dropped her head into her hand. Fletcher pinched the bridge of his nose, a weary smile gracing his lips.

  
"Perish the thought." The boy scoffed, breezing past her to go up to his seat. With dark curly hair, deep green eyes and an infuriating height, Daniel Leclair was difficult to ignore. That fact might just explain why he and Evelyn Rosier loathed each other.

  
Or, more likely, they despised each other because that in of itself was a universal, intrinsic law of human nature - Humans hate other humans passionately, and not often with good reason.

  
The grating chime of the bell purged Eve's thoughts of both Chat Noir and Daniel Leclair. Rather, they turned to the mundane worry as Mr. Gavreau entered the room of how she'd finesse her way out of her homework being half done for the third time that week.

* * *

"We'll pick up after lunch. Mr. Gavreau decided, turning to face his class. "Be safe," He clasped his hands together, "I'm sure you all heard what happened last night. Paris is slightly more dangerous than it was yesterday."

  
Eve rose and shuffled her papers into a straight stack, sparingly looking back at Leah. "So what _did_ happen?" She slid her papers into her bag, zipping it.

"I told you," Leah laughed, twisting a strand of fiery hair around her finger, "Chat Noir is back. And he's a villain."

Leah descended from her desk to linger by Eve and Fletcher's, leaning forward, hands planted firmly on the desktop.  
Eve exchanged a look with Fletcher and turned back to Leah, eyeing her warily.

  
"Heard that part. What, explicitly, did he do?" Eve pulled her bag over her shoulder, following Fletcher's rightward exit from their desk.

  
"He robbed one of the most highly guarded banks in Paris!" Leah followed them, popping up on her heels enthusiastically. "He destroyed the door like it was nothing." The trio strolled out of the classroom door and stopped just short of it, lingering.

  
"Just - whoosh," Leah mimicked an explosion, "Gone!"

  
"How would someone who wasn't intending to use it for good get possession of power?" Eve shook her head with a grimace. "It just doesn - hey!" She stumbled forward, propelled by the sudden sensation of someone pushing into her shoulder. She whipped around, chasing whoever was responsible.

  
To no one's surprise, she only saw Daniel's retreating figure. He spared a glance over his shoulder and called, "Don't block the door!"

  
Eve's hands clenched into fists, red dancing on the edge of her vision. She scowled after him.

  
"Hawk Moth did." Leah replied casually. Eve's shoulders tensed.

  
She turned her head slowly to look at Fletcher, whose expression had melted into the textbook picture of stoicism. For a moment, they were all quiet. Leah was staring at the floor, avoiding meeting Eve or Fletcher's eyes, blank mortification painted on her face.

  
"Let's go, Eve." Fletcher broke the silence first. Somehow, that only made it tenser. "I'll walk you home."

  
"Right - uh..." Eve tried to stall for a moment, but to no avail; Fletcher began walking before she could say a word. She looked between Leah and Fletcher helplessly for a moment.

  
"He'll...calm down." She informed Leah apologetically. Leah only nodded, dragging her hands down her face.  
Eve hesitated a moment longer, then ran to catch up to Fletcher for a rather silent walk home.

* * *

The bell chimed softly as Eve entered the store. Two customers poked through the flowers idly. Serena was behind the counter, filling some paper or the other out.

  
"Hi, mama." Eve greeted with a wave. Serena's eyes rose.

  
"Eve! Hi, sweetie." She smiled, but it soon passed. Her lips pursed and she leaned, clearly trying to see around Evelyn. "Where's Fletcher?"

  
"Oh, he - he walked with me." She confirmed, ducking around a well-dressed woman to reach the counter. "He's going to eat at home today. Uh, Leah..." Eve sighed, biting her lip, fingers drumming along the counter.

  
"Leah mentioned Gabriel and you know how Fletcher - " Eve trailed off, looking away at something off to the side that wasn't at all important.

  
"I see." Serena placed her hand on top of Eve's. "Well, in other news, you received a package today. It's in your room."  
"What?" Eve looked back, raising an eyebrow. "But I didn't - "

  
"Excuse me!" Called the well-dressed woman. Both Eve and Serena turned to look at her.

  
"Just a moment!" Serena called. With a squeeze of Eve's hand and a soft smile, Serena scurried past her to attend to the woman.

  
Eve sighed, slipping behind the counter and opening the door to the stairs. Like many other families in Paris, the Rosiers resided in a small flat above their shop. It wasn't much and overtly cramped half the time, considering Fletcher was a frequent stay, but it was all they needed.

  
Eve ascended the steps which led her into the living room. Dropping her bag on the couch, she headed down the small hallway to her bedroom. The door was slightly ajar, meaning Serena had indeed been inside.

  
She pushed the door open, entering and then shutting it behind her. Her shoes flew across the room rapidly, as she flexed her toes in the tan carpet and scanned the room.

  
There was nothing new on her dresser, nor her desk. Nothing on either of the two windowsills. That left her bed. She turned her attention that way and sure enough, nestled in the middle of the emerald green comforter, was a package made of paper-bag and twine.

  
Eve laughed, picking it up and turning it every which way inquisitively. Had her mother bought her a gift? The twine unraveled easily, revealing the etched black box hidden inside.

  
Stupefied, Eve sat down, thumbing over the etchings appreciatively.

  
"This is beautiful." She murmured to no one in particular.

  
She took one more look around her room as if she expected her mysterious benefactor to pop out. When no one materialized, she shrugged and opened the box. Sitting among the red velvet cushioning was a necklace. A thin loop of black leather, with a red bead in the center.

  
Eve furrowed her brows and tipped the box slightly. It seemed too simple to be contained in such a unique box.  
Cautiously, she held up the necklace.

  
A red light flashed. She dropped the box and cringed back, squeezing her eyes shut. It was only when the flash subdued that she opened one eye.

  
A small red creature covered in spike floated in the air in front of her, its wide amber eyes staring at her eagerly.

  
"Hi!" It said with a wave of its tiny hand.

  
Evelyn screamed.

* * *

An assault of stale, cold underground air blustered over Daniel as the subway screeched to a halt in front of him. He glanced up from his book; He had managed to almost perfectly align himself with a set of doors.  
The doors whisked open and Daniel ducked inside. A quick survey of the compartment told him it was rather empty. He chose one of the hard plastic seats near the door as the rest of the crowd filed in. He buried his nose back in his book.

  
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a man holding a bouquet take the seat next to him. The man was fidgety, looking curiously around the compartment. Daniel pulled his book just a bit closer to his face.  
The doors slid closed and with a sudden but gentle sway accompanied by the grinding screech of metal on metal, they were off.

  
It was two stops from Daniel's exit where the trouble started. This swish of the doors let in a woman clutching her bag close to her chest, head tucked, eyes lowered, pursued by the reek of alcohol. More accurately, a man reeking of alcohol.

  
"Where are you - " He burped. "Where are you going?" He slurred, falling against a pole as the subway lurched into action.

  
The woman took a seat across from Daniel.

  
"I just wanna taaaalk...." The man whined, gripping pathetically onto the pole. He swayed far more than the train was moving, hunched over in a half-laying position against the pole.

  
"Please," The woman's voice was hollow and quiet. "I asked you to leave me alone."

  
Daniel closed his book and put it on his lap.

  
"Why?" The man pulled himself to a position vaguely resembling standing. "You think - you think you're too good for me?" There was a sudden sharpness and clarity he had been lacking before.

  
"That it, bitch?" The drunk snorted. He lunged towards the woman, but, dumbfounded, found himself halted by Daniel's firm grip on his arm.

  
"I think," Daniel said quietly, "The lady asked to be left alone."

  
The doors softly pinged open behind Daniel. People from this stop entered the train, eyeing the tense standoff warily.

  
"The hell you think you're gonna do?" The drunk twisted, leering down at Daniel.

  
"What are _you_ going to do?" Daniel countered, his stare piercing. He held firmly onto the man, even as people brushed up against him entering the compartment.

  
The drunk babbled for a moment in reply, suddenly nervous. Daniel took that as his opportunity to calmly direct him to the doors. Then, with a rather aggressive shove, the man stumbled out and fell face-first on the platform.  
The door whisked shut. Daniel turned, grabbing the pole nearest to him.

  
"You okay, miss?" He asked the woman, who was staring at the doors her harasser had disappeared through with a small smile on her lips. She jolted, looking up at Daniel.

  
"Yes. Thank you." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "He had been following me for...a while."

  
Daniel smiled and retook his seat. His stop was coming up soon.

* * *

"Oh, please don't freak out." The creature urged, fluttering closer to Eve who had scrambled backward on her bed until her back was pressed up against the wall.

  
Eve continued to stare, hand slapped over her mouth.

  
"My name is Longg." The creature pushed on her cheeks with her little paws. "I'm your kwami!"

  
Eve lowered her hand slowly, chest heaving with each staggered breath. She swallowed roughly before replying.

  
"I don't - " Just in case, she pinched her arm. The creature - the kwami, she corrected internally - continued to exist. "I don't know what that is."

  
Longg frowned. She crossed her arms, a disgruntled expression on her face. "The guardian did it _again_?" She huffed.

  
"Who?" Eve breathed, scrunching her comforter between her fingers just to ground herself. "And what'd they do?"

  
"Let me start again," Longg said apologetically. She descended, taking a seat lightly upon Eve's knee.

  
"My name is Longg," She touched her chest, "And I am the kwami of the dragon miraculous." Her tiny paw shifted to point at the necklace Eve had long since abandoned to the wayside on the bed.

  
"I...I still don't - " Even began helplessly. Longg waved her paw furiously to shush her.

  
"You've been selected to wield the dragon miraculous by the guardian. I power the miraculous." Longg tipped her head, staring innocently up at Eve.

  
"I'm, uh...Eve." She cleared her throat, offering a finger to the kwami to shake which Longg did so with great enthusiasm. "So...like, Ladybug and Chat Noir?"

  
"Yes!" Longg seemed incredibly pleased with herself for it finally clicking for Eve, nodding enthusiastically.  
"And...why, exactly," Eve laughed nervously, tugging on a strand of hair, "Was I picked?"

  
"Well..." Longg tapped her chin thoughtfully. "It must be because you showed the guardian you embody what the dragon miraculous stands for. Otherwise, he wouldn't have given it to you." She shrugged.

  
"Why?" Eve was dumbfounded. When had she even met the guardian?

  
"With the black cat falling into the wrong hands, the guardian decided to send two miraculous wielders to retrieve not only the black cat but find the missing ladybug as well." Longg was either completely oblivious to the gravity of her words or didn't care, based on how she was playing with her toes and not looking at Eve.

  
"Wait, wait - " Eve held up her hands. "Two miraculous holders?"

  
"Mhm!" Longg looked up at last grinning. "You'll have a partner, though I don't know what miraculous the guardian picked to accompany you!"

  
"Who?" Eve knit her brows together, finally shuffling away from her position against the wall.

  
"I dunno!" Longg shrugged, floating up into the air again. Eve couldn't help it - She slapped her forehead impulsively. Longg wasn't exactly the most useful.

  
"You'll meet them soon." Longg volunteered, glancing around distractedly.  
"So if - if this is like Ladybug, then...I must have powers, right?" Eve leaned forward, folding her arms on top of her knees.

  
"Oh, yeah, lots!" Longg clapped her hands together in excitement. This was always her favorite part of a new wielder - telling them all the tricks! "The dragon miraculous is the miraculous of the weather. A dragon can utilize lightning, wind, and water by calling out 'Dragon-rend!'" She explained, accompanying her words with wide, vague gestures meant to demonstrate.

  
Eve had finally opened up to the concept and was enraptured by the kwami as she spoke. "What else?"  
Longg smiled and continued.

* * *

Daniel shut the door to his bedroom shut behind him. His rough plan was to eat then get in some last-minute studying in for the test after lunch.

  
His bag flew over to his bed as Daniel went over to his desk and powered his computer. His shoulders rolled, a thoughtful expression on his face. Behind him, there was an almost indiscernible thud of something falling.

  
He raised an eyebrow, turning around. On the floor to the side of his bed, having just made its grand escape from his bag, was a black box with red etchings.

  
Daniel frowned. It wasn't his, that he knew. He crossed his room and knelt, picking it up curiously and rotating it in his hands.

  
"Damn it." He muttered, rising. Someone must have placed it on his seat when he got up to confront the man, and he had somehow knocked it into his bag before he sat back down.

  
He dropped it flippantly on his bed. He'd give it to the station's lost and found later, when school was over, lest he is late on his way back.

  
Daniel left his room to go get food. The box rested on his bed, humming with distant power.

* * *

From one side of the school approached Eve, squinting down at her phone and occasionally looking up. She was looking for someone or something. Around her neck was a new necklace, the leather loop just barely poking out from below her coat. From the opposite side came Daniel, absorbed by his studying.

  
Fletcher ghosted into existence next to Eve, knocking her with his arm. She stumbled and laughed, retaliating with a light shove of her own. Her laughter caused Daniel - as the trio had rapidly gained proximity to each other - to look up with a quirked eyebrow.

  
He realized soon just who it was that laughed and shifted his eyes over to Fletcher. Daniel smiled and waved pleasantly. Fletcher laughed.

  
Eve looked at her best friend in disbelief, then turned her gaze back to Daniel, eyes roving up and down him with disgust. Her hand wrapped around Fletcher's wrist and she pulled him inside, fuming.

  
Daniel watched them go and after a moment followed with a bemused smile dancing on his lips.

  
Across the street, Nino Lahiffe watched the two with a wide, chesire grin.

  
"Well, Wayzz?" He prompted softly. Out of his pocket crept a kwami resembling a turtle.

  
"They don't seem to like each other, master," Wayzz answered with an uncertain frown.

  
"I know." Nino tapped Wayzz's head playfully. "They're going to be _fantastic._"


End file.
